On February 24, for Westridge’s annual All School Read, Marla Frazee, a well-known illustrator and author of children’s books, spoke about her award-winning book, In Every Life.  The book touches on themes of love, comfort, and hope. 

The All School Read is an annual event hosted by the Upper School English Department, where a text is chosen for the entire school to read and discuss. This year, Westridge hosted Marla Frazee, who has been awarded a Caldecott honor for two of her books, All the World and A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, and the Boston Globe Horn Book Award for her picture book The Farmer and The Clown. Ms. Frazee lives in Pasadena, and is neighbors with Mrs. Kara Ramirez, who chose the book for the school to read. 

“I thought that it would be great to have a picture book, given the age range of students. And I also just love the artwork of that book,” Mrs. Ramirez said. In Every Life has a special meaning to Mrs. Ramirez, as she and her family were gifted the book by Ms. Frazee during a difficult time. “There’s a lot of comfort in the words, in the text, and in the illustrations. And so I found that to be meaningful, and my family found it to be meaningful,” said Mrs. Ramirez. Ramirez said the purpose of the All School Read is “to celebrate the joy of reading, the experience of reading, and to have a sort of universal experience with a text that can reach all members of the community.” 

Ms. Frazee explained her path to becoming an author and illustrator; from the moment Ms. Frazee read Blueberries For Sal as a child, she was enamored with the art and illustrations. “I loved the way she looked, the way she acted… I wanted to be her but I also wanted to draw those pictures,” she said.

From a young age, Ms. Frazee knew she wanted to be an illustrator. She got her start as a third grader when her best friend encouraged her to start illustrating. She said, “Lisa wrote the book, and I illustrated it. It was called The Friendship Circle.” It was so good that their teacher sent it to the California State Fair, and it won an award. Their teacher then asked the duo to make a copy of the book to put in their school library. “I walked into the library, and there it was on the shelf, among all the other books I loved. I felt like an author,” she said.

Since then, Ms. Frazee has illustrated over 25 books and has written and illustrated eight, including Clementine, The Farmer and the Clown, and Boss Baby, which was turned into a film.

Although she has published numerous books, Ms. Frazee spent years trying to write and illustrate  In Every Life. “I would work on it then put it away. I would get it out again with fresh eyes and work on it, and put it away, and that kept going on,” she said.

Finally, in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Frazee brought out the idea for In Every Life again. She said, “I kept asking myself, ‘what do we all have in common? What are the things that we can all agree are important in our lives, and no matter who we are, where we live, what age we are, what are the things that are universally important to all of us?’”

For some of the illustration in the book, Ms. Frazee took inspiration from her own childhood experiences and loved ones. Ms. Frazee said, “I went through all these photo albums and feelings and journals and memories and just gathered together the things of my life that meant so much to me.” She was inspired by pictures of her parents who knew each other as young kids. The last picture of the book was inspired by Frazee’s three sons as kids. 

Students in all grades connected to the book in some way. Sydney S. ’25 appreciated its universality: “I loved that it was a children’s book and that there were illustrations. I 

thought that was creative, and I wasn’t expecting Westridge

 to do that. Sometimes it’s harder to relate to All School Reads as a 4th grader when we’re dissecting heavier poems, but I liked how it was kind of applicable to all the people at Westridge.” Similarly, Lora K. ’27 said, ” I like how the book has moments I can relate to and relate to during my childhood, like falling over in a puddle, and having fun in a puddle.” 

Mave S. ’31, a student new to Westridge this year, said, “I was excited for it, I didn’t know what it was at first, but it was cool to have the author come and talk about her work.”

Ms. Frazee hopes that In Every Life gives people a chance to find comfort, especially in times of hardship. “I hope that they take away a sort of awareness of the moments in their own life they might be taking for granted,” Ms. Frazee concluded.